Fiscal Sponsorship
Your project deserves the infrastructure to do its best work.
Mockingbird Incubator offers comprehensive fiscal sponsorship to social justice projects across the United States. Our approach is rooted in strong systems, reliable oversight, and education that strengthens a project's ability to operate with confidence and clarity.
Under Fiscal Sponsorship, your project can raise funds, receive grants, and deliver programs while we handle the legal compliance, financial management, HR, payroll, and back-office operations that keep an organization running and in good standing.
When you become a Model A Mockingbird Incubator Project, you are joining a community of projects and a team of nonprofit experts who are genuinely invested in making your work last. We think of ourselves as a teaching hospital: we are here to make sure your impact grows stronger over time.
WHAT IS FISCAL SPONSORSHIP?
What this means for your project:
When you join Mockingbird Incubator as a fiscally sponsored project, you are gaining more than a 501(c)(3) to operate under. You are getting a team that handles the organizational complexity so you can put your energy where it belongs: in your work and your community.
Fiscal Sponsorship under Mockingbird Incubator works best for projects that have a clear vision, are ready to raise funds, and want experienced support managing the organizational infrastructure while they focus on programs and community. It may not be the right fit if your project already has its own 501(c)(3), operates outside of the United States, or is not aligned with our mission and values.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
Once your agreement is signed, you can receive tax-deductible donations and apply for grants without waiting for your own IRS approval. For many projects, this is the difference between starting now and starting in eighteen months.
Access to funding.
We handle financial management, bookkeeping, banking, vendor payments, and payroll for your project staff. Your team members are employed through Mockingbird Incubator, which means we process payroll, issue W-2 forms, manage workers' compensation, and ensure compliance with labor laws in every state where your team works.
Administrative and payroll support.
We manage all required filings with the IRS and state regulators, keep your project in good standing, and review all contracts and legal agreements before anything is signed. Operating under an established 501(c)(3) also signals to funders that your project has the oversight and accountability structures they want to see before making a grant.
Regulatory Compliance.
Your project activities are covered under Mockingbird Incubator's general liability insurance. We manage the relationship with our carrier and make sure your work is properly protected.
Insurance that covers your work.
As a sponsored project, you have access to Mockingbird Incubator's training programs, workshops, and webinars covering nonprofit management topics including governance, fundraising, program design, and compliance. We want every project under our umbrella to build the organizational knowledge to grow and operate with confidence.
Nonprofit education and ongoing learning.
Our team has worked in the nonprofit sector across direct service, social justice organizing, fundraising, and organizational management. We are available to support your project not just administratively but as a knowledgeable resource when questions or challenges come up.
Expert guidance
We charge a cost share of 10% of all funds received into your project account, up to 13% for certain federal grants that carry additional compliance requirements.
Building this same infrastructure independently as a standalone 501(c)(3) typically costs between $74,000 and $129,000 annually, depending on your size and annual income. Fiscal sponsorship is almost always more cost-effective, especially in the early stages of a project's growth.
Beyond our financial infrastructure, what we are asking for is a real partnership. Open communication, a commitment to following the policies that protect everyone under our umbrella, and a genuine investment in doing the work with integrity. That is what makes this model work for everyone involved.
Our Cost Sharing Structure:
Application and Onboarding Timeline:
Step 1: Start by completing our interest form. This gives us a clear picture of your project, your goals, and where you are right now. We review submission on an ongoing basis and will follow up to schedule a conversation within 2 weeks.
Step 2: Submit a full application: From there, if we mutually decide to move forward together, you will be asked to submit a full application that our Board of Directors will review and approve.
Step 3: Agreement: If approved, you will sign a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement that clearly outlines the responsibilities on both sides, the cost sharing structure, and the terms of the relationship.
Step 4: Onboarding: Onboarding takes approximately two weeks from contract signing and starts with an onboarding call with our team to review our policies and procedures. Once your account is set up, your project is ready to receive funds.
WHO WE WORK WITH:
We sponsor social-justice projects across the United States that are doing community-rooted work and are ready for a transparent, collaborative partnership. We are looking for projects with a clear sense of what they are working toward and a genuine commitment to doing that work with integrity.
We welcome projects at every stage. Whether you are brand new, have been doing this work informally for years, or are transferring from another fiscal sponsor and looking for a different fit, we want to hear from you.
We work with projects doing mission-driven work in areas including:
Environmental Justice & Equity • Arts and Culture • Community Support Initiatives • Justice Organizations • Gender Equity • Health Equity • Human Rights • Income Inequality • Incarceration and Abolition • Research, Policy, and Archival • Civil Rights and Legal Justice • Restorative and Transformative Justice • And Projects Advancing Ethics, Accountability, or Transparency
We are not able to serve organizations registered and/or operating outside of the United States, or organizations not aligned with our mission and values.
Located and operating in the United States
Not yet incorporated as a nonprofit in the United States
Willing to join and complete the Mockingbird Incubator Program
Open to building an advisory board for your project
Meet Our Projects
Mockingbird Incubator sponsors projects working across the United States on issues ranging from racial justice to environmental advocacy to arts and community organizing. Each project came to us with a vision and a community.
If you want to learn more about the projects we sponsor, or if you are a donor looking to support community-rooted work through our 501(c)(3) umbrella, we would love to connect you.
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